Worse Than Nicotine
by greatnightmare
Summary: When Doctor Thredson meets Briarcliff's live-in psychologist he just might rethink his plan with Lana Winters. But secrets from both sides get in the way and cause a rift between them. How can a girl make it in the professional world without having some skeletons in her closet? How can a man without a mother's love resist a Doctor who shows compassion to her patients? Thredson/OC
1. Just the Beginning

Heels clicked against Briarcliff's floors as a powerful woman marched to meet her newest guest. Giselle heard the whispers of his arrival and was ecstatic. Finally another sane mind who shared her ideals, the nuns held power to His Will, but Giselle Tyler knew there was more backing in research and science than their beliefs. She patted her hair back hoping her busy work didn't make her shortened strands free themselves from her bun. A patient ran into her shoulder and knocked her on her back. Two orderlies ran after the patient while Giselle tried to regain herself. She propped herself up on her elbow and closed her eyes feeling the lightheadedness sweep over her. Upon opening her eyes there was a hand in front of her face. She followed the arm up to a handsome face and soft brown eyes framed by large eye glasses. A face like his did not belong here, it was full of kindness and he was begging to help. Without suspicion she grabbed his hand and he pulled Giselle to her feet.

"Are you alright ma'am?" His other hand caressed her bare arm and she was glad she decided not to wear her sweater today, his tender touch stirred something she had not felt since her time here began, nurture. Someone who cared, the nuns were cold to her because she couldn't see things like they did and Doctor Arden, well he tried talking to her once but their discussion took an unexpected turn and the Doctor just avoided her.

"I'm fine, thank you. I haven't seen you here before Mr….?"

"Doctor Thredson actually. You are?" He said smiling letting his hand slide down her arm and back to his side.

"Giselle Tyler. Live-in psychologist I specialize in compulsive behavior correction" She stuck out her hand ready for a hand shake. The Doctor raised a dark eyebrow and grabbed her hand with firmness.

"I wasn't aware that Briarcliff had a psychologist. I thought that's why I was assigned to Kit-"

"Giselle! You have a patient waiting!" said Sister Jude sternly from three levels above before turning back around. Giselle gave a nod to the Doctor and walked up the stairway to heaven to meet with her patient. Her office was small and simple but she knew being a woman in her field she should just be lucky to have a job. She saw Spivey waiting outside her office with a strait jacket an orderly standing next to him. Giselle always had orderlies in her office with her patients just in case she had a patients who became unruly. Lord knows she couldn't put up a fight. She opened the door and Spivey walked in fidgeting the whole time. He was fighting trying so hard to release himself.

"Tell me Mr. Freeman how are you feeling today?" His response was stuttered as he fought urges.

"I n-nneed to t-ttou-cccchhh." He said rocking back and forth. Giselle snapped her fingers getting his eyes to land on her.

"I asked you a question. How are you today?" She repeated gently.

"Unstatsified. P-p-please let me out of this!" He said rocking.

"Now you know I can't allow that. You are not allowed to exposure yourself in front of people." Giselle flipped through her paperwork scanning her previous notes trying to see what this session had to accomplish if there was to be any hope for this poor man.

"Doctor! PLEASE!" The orderly in the room cleared his throat pulling Giselle's eyes from the paper. He made a motion to the man desperately wanting to relieve himself. Giselle shook her head, if the orderly just hit her patient that would be counter-productive to the day's session. The intimidating man crossed his arms and waited. Giselle looked at her patient fidgeting with his jacket trying to break it. Giselle could see his erection pulsing from his pants and she quickly blushed and averted her eyes.

"Today we're going to try to figure out your trigger. What is it that goes through that little head of yours that makes you keep doing this?" She waited for a response. There were times where it would take him ten minutes to stop thinking about something sexual and focus on the questions at hand. Today was no exception.

"I think of the other patients…nn-naked." He said leaning forward to try and rub his bulge. The orderly stepped in and held his back against the chair. Giselle wrote this down.

"Every patient?" She asked.

"Nnn-not the boys. Th-that's just disgusting!" He retorted defensively.

"But how do you know what a naked form looks like?" She waited again, not daring to pressure her patient. She had an hour with him today and they could take their time with the answers.

"I saw all those girls." He said moaning. Giselle's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Which girls?" She said ready to write.

"I p-pee-peeked at those hi-high school dames in the lo-locker room. I was so young."

"How young" Giselle asked never bothering to look up from her notes, she just kept writing possible connections and waited while he reflected trying to figure out his age.

"Five, their bodies, the way they touched themselves in the showers…. I need to touch myself."

"You do not! We have a lot to get done today!"

"You got me thinking about it DOC! I HAVE TO TOUCH!" He said fighting against the jacket and the orderly restraining him. Giselle sighed and looked at her plan for Spivey. She regretfully approached Spivey and whispered in his ear.

"Are you a virgin to women?" She asked. Spivey stopped rocking for a moment and looked at Giselle with fear. He didn't want to confess. Giselle smiled and stood in front of him arms crossed. "I thought so." She tilted her head looking at this demented man. "I cannot condone a possible treatment because that's just naughty of me. However I'll look into the possibilities ." She smiled and so did Spivey he was slowly figuring out the doctor's words and pieces were clicking. He started fidgeting again and she ruffled his hair. "You were good today." She said walking to her desk and opened her drawers. She found a manila envelope with Freeman written on it. She pulled out half of the Mars bar and tossed it at the orderly. "Let him eat that. He didn't fight as much today." She said going to the one small file cabinet in her office. She searched for a particular patient who wasn't due to see her today. Upon finding the file she smiled and took it with her. "Make sure he eats it all before he leaves, can't have sister Jude seeing candy, how sinful." She said walking by the orderly. He grabbed her arm and looked at her eyes.

"Sweet cheeks, where's my treat?" He asked. Giselle looked worried for a moment and started breathing heavily. His grin seemed to look sinister as he looked her up and down.

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are?" She asked trying to pry her arm free.

"Giselle, do you even know my name?" He asked calmly. His grip didn't seem as tight now. Giselle racked her brain. Patients names she knew, they mattered to her. Her coworkers were just a wave of people with the same clothes and different faces. She was horrible with names anyway. She looked at his green eyes and saw the black hair combed and parted in the middle. Put a name to a face, it was so hard for her to connect. She looked at his arm and saw the wedding band. That clicked something.

"You're…Jeff Franco. Married with two kids, a boy and a girl. Your wife is expecting another boy in December." She rattled off. Jeff's grip loosened and he let go. She stopped shaking and shook her head. What was she about to do? She looked at Spivey sitting in his chair fidgeting and then remembered what she was off to do. Leaving her office she made a purpose to get to the kitchen as soon as possible. She made it down the first spiral of the stairs when another formed joined her. It was the same man as before, the Doctor, with a file in his hand. She glanced at him and smiled a bit continuing her descent.

"Hello Doctor Thredson."

"Doctor Tyler, I may have overheard some of your session with that young man, are you alright?"

"Alright? Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well I thought I heard a struggle."

"It was the orderly getting jealous," She said with an eye roll. "Some of those men think I spoil the inmates with treats. I am just using Skinners positive reinforcement to promote the correcting of behaviors." She said with defense. "I don't understand why they get so fussy. I am the professional not just a lug of meat to fight the insane!" She said.

"You're a fan of Skinner then?" Thredson asked trying to ease the tension in the young woman.

"Oh yes!" She said with excitement. "I watched my neighbor's children once a week; I used his methods to make those children perfect angels." She said reaching the ground floor and walking by the pale statue of Mary. Thredson kept pace as he took in the asylum. No one bothered to give him a tour.

"I don't understand how you got a job at _this _place. It seems so unsafe for a woman like you."

"Well, I am a woman. I take the jobs I can get."

"Was it at least close to your family?"

"My family?" She chuckled. "My family pushed me to go to Harvard and find a man, I found a degree instead. Those people haven't spoken to me in at least a year." She walked down a hallway and into the kitchen where the nuns and inmates were getting ready for lunch. Thredson still seemed troubled by something.

"So no husband? I find that hard to believe, with your ambitious intentions and caring spirit."

"Where do you get the idea I'm caring?" She asked avoiding the husband question.

"Well a Doctor typically cares about their patients, I asked one that I bumped into earlier about you, she said 'Sweet Doctor, nice doctor.'" Giselle giggled a bit.

"Pepper is too kind." She said searching the crowd for a particular face. "But I am concerned, why are asking others about me? Do I intimidate you?" She asked raising a brow and catching Thredson looking off guard.

"No, I just wanted to know about my coworkers." He said. She nodded her head and found her patient.

"Excuse me Doctor." She said walking over to the blond kneading some bread dough. Thredson smirked as she walked away watching as she kindly spoke to the blonde patient missing a patch of hair about her ear. Miss. Tyler, if it was Miss? She hadn't given him a clear answer, was very gentle like a mother to her patients. Thredson liked that a lot.


	2. Show you around the Mad House

She approached the nymphomaniac with confidence as she left the poor Doctor behind. She stood across the counter from her and waited for her to look up. When their eyes meet the pair smiled at each other.

"Shelly, I like your hair cut. You might set a new fashion trend when you're released." Giselle had a relationship with some of her patients that allowed this type of humor. Shelly smirked and continued to knead the dough.

"Yeah Doc, when ya gunna fix me so I can leave?" She said smiling.

"Depends, when you going to stop stealing cucumbers?" Giselle asked. The pair giggled a bit while Thredson looked on amused with the interaction. He could see the effect she had on people here. Patients seemed eased at her presence and that was saying so much. Looking around at the orderlies and officers who stood at the corners of the kitchen made even Thredson nervous when he had no right to be.

"After lunch then?" Giselle said pointing at Shelly while she walked back to her newest coworker. Shelly blew a kiss Giselle's direction and was rewarded with a stern finger shake from her Doctor. Giselle looked at the man before her and still had a smile on her face. "So Thredson fancy a tour?"

"That would be nice."

The pair walked up and down the hallways Giselle nodding at orderlies as she passed them, they looked familiar but there was no name with the face. One stopped them as they were about to enter the female patient's rooms.

" what are you up to with this man?" Giselle quickly scanned the man and saw nothing that set him apart from the other muscular men she had passed. No, he had a burn mark on his neck.

"I'm giving the new Doctor a tour Fred. We're fine." She said proud she remembered his name.

"Kit Walker's?" Fred asked with certainty. Thredson stuck his hand out but wasn't met with Fred's.

"I'm Doctor Oliver Thredson. You were one of the men who brought him in to see me this morning weren't you?"

"Yeah that was me, I just thought Miss. Tyler had other places to be now. Sorry." He said nodding before leaving. Giselle looked at Thredson with confusion and walked on.

"This is where the female's sleep. Each door is opened through our security system and lights are out at nine. They do room searches once in a while. I'm afraid I had two of my patients with a violation." Giselle said with a sigh. She looked at the Doctor and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that'll be discussed at our next sessions." The Doctor nodded and smiled a bit, but it quickly dissolved when the pair heard a cry of pain. Giselle moved quickly to the source with the Doctor behind her. They stopped at Shelly's room and saw her getting canned through the little window her room had. Giselle saw the flour on her clothes and Sister Jude's habit. Jude had probably dragged her out of the kitchen shortly after their meeting. Giselle shook her head and marched back to her office. Thredson not knowing what to do about the primitive action he just witnessed followed Giselle. She opened the door of her office and rummaged through her file cabinet. Her face was hot and tears were forming at the corners of her eyes in anger. Thredson knocked on the frame not wanting to enter her office if he wasn't supposed to. She looked over at him standing awkwardly in the frame and motioned him in. "Close that damn door." She said pulling out a file and slamming it on her desk. Thredson closed the door and stood by the door. The upset woman made him uneasy. She sat down at her chair and opened the file. "She does this all the damn time! Undermines all my work! I make progress with these people and she does shit like that! I get set back at least four sessions when she pulls those stunts!"

"That's a common occurrence? What did that patient do?" Thredson said taking the patient chair across from her desk.

"That's one of my girls, she's diagnosed with nymphomania and she was caught with a cucumber in her room this morning, and it wasn't for a midnight snack!" Giselle wrote a new note in the file before her and put her forehead in her hands. "They listen to me, they confide in me, they are like the children I never had. When Sister Jude does this it makes those patients think I can't defend them and I am just another one of those heartless employees. I lose their trust and I waste sessions trying to regain it." She let out a huge sigh and looked at Thredson. He seemed concerned for her.

"Is there nothing you can do?"

"My contract it very clear: My treatments are under scrutiny of Sister Jude and her treatments can override mine as she's the Head of the Institution." She shook her head and leaned back in her chair.

"That hardly seems right, you're licensed to treat these patients!"

"Yes well Doctor welcome to the woman's world of Professionalism." She said flying out of her chair to stand at the barred window of her office. The glass was filthy and she could barely make out the leaves on the trees. She heard him walking towards her. He held a cigarette in her view and she looked at it with curiosity.

"Smoking calms me down sometimes, it also helps me think." Giselle took it and turned around waiting for a light. She used to smoke a lot in high school but she didn't see a need to once she graduated from Wellesley and went to Harvard. Thredson held a lighter out to her cigarette end a small orange flame danced before lighting her new stress relief. She inhaled and let the nicotine do its job and she exhaled through her nose. She could feel a small sense of calmness cover her and she looked into Thredson's dark brown eyes.

"Thank you." He smiled at her and she back at her desk. She walked to pick up another folder that was on top of Shelly's. She picked it up and the Doctor rushed to grab it from her hands.

"Sorry, that's my file on Kit. I was going to set it in my office, but then I realized I didn't know where it was. That's why I was outside your office during your morning session." She smiled as he rambled and picked up Shelly's file.

"You're fine Doct-"

"Oliver please."

"Oliver." She liked the way that sounded in her mouth more than his title. She walked to the cabinet cigarette in her mouth as she put it back. She exhaled another drag and looked at Oliver. "I'll help you find your office." She took another drag and looked at him. He was standing where the orderlies usually did. Only a step away from the patient's chair. Seeing he wasn't stepping to the side to let her through she just brushed between the chair and Oliver. He immediately stepped back.

"Sorry I didn't-"

"Please Oliver you don't need to apologize for everything, I'm not your mother." She said stepping out. Oliver took a moment to recover from her comment and followed her out the door.

She opened the door just a few doors down from her own. Oliver walked in and when Giselle took notice of the room she was a bit jealous. His office was nearly twice as big as hers. He set the file down and looked around a bit.

"Shall I go? Will you be able to find your way around?" Giselle asked leaning against the frame.

"Yeah, I just have to get some things from my car. Thanks Giselle, you are without doubt the most compassionate person in this building." She giggled and shook her head.

"That's saying so much." She said taking another drag off her cigarette.

"Well, I think you understand what I mean." Thredson said walking closer to her. She smirked, she loved being a little shit sometimes.

"Do I?" Thredson rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You are impossible woman. Now can I leave my office or do I have to forcefully remove you?" She stood tall and crossed her arms leaving her cigarette in her mouth.

"I'd like to see you try." Thredson sighed and grabbed her waist and without struggle lifted her up and walked her back three feet so he could get out the door. Her arms uncrossed and gripped his arms. She dropped her cigarette and was shocked that he was so strong. He set her on her feet and walked past her to the exit without giving her a second glance. She closed her jaw and went back to her office and waited for Shelly trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in her stomach.


	3. Always Time for Second Guesses

_'Cause there's always time for second guesses I don't wanna know_  
_If you're gonna be the death of me, that's how I wanna go_

_You've got it all worked out with so little time_  
_Memories that I'd blackout if you were mine'_

_'Collar Full' - P!ATD_

* * *

"Shelly, I have a proposition for you." Giselle said after a brief discussion about Sister Jude's punishment earlier. Shelly was a patient who she could easily regain trust with. Shelly understood Giselle's power only went so far against the nun. Giselle held a photograph of a man hiding from it Shelly. There was no orderly in the room which was good. This was something she shouldn't be suggesting anyway.

"What's that?" She asked sitting with her legs spread apart. Giselle found Shelly's passion a certain type of inspiring. Shelly was not ashamed, she knew what she wanted. Granted it was immoral desires Shelly still required the same amount of attention and care as any other patient. Come to think of it, Giselle may have been the only person in this facility that treated everyone with equal care and nurture. She only had about four patients she saw but they all smiled a little when they saw her.

"No names aloud Shelly, but do you know this man?" Giselle showed Shelly the picture of Spivey. Giselle watched intently for an initial reaction from her. She saw her eyebrows raise and her lips purse together.

"What about him?" She asked.

"I have a theory, that this patient may benefit from pleasure given to him by someone other than himself. He could find it more pleasing and abstain from self-serving action as much. It's a theory but I need a willing patient to work with him. You came to mind."

"Oooh Doctor that's very naughty. I thought you were supposed to correct my behavior not let me engage in it." She said smiling. Giselle nodded her head.

"Well, I'm hoping it helps relieve some of your tension as well. I know you've been here a while and you have needs. Keeping it all locked up is not good."

"You know what's not good? Keeping me in here without the light of day! I want to feel the sun on my skin Doctor, as much as I want to feel a man's skin on my own." She spoke with a light moan at the end.

"Shelly," Giselle spoke with condescendence. "I don't like your display of arousal, please tone it down a bit." She folded her hands on her desk and waited.

"Sorry Doc, I just look out the windows in the day room and I know the sun is out there, I just want to feel the warmth." She said closing her eyes. Giselle thought for a moment. She went through the floor plan of Briarcliff and tried to remember if there was any place with an open window or balcony. She could think of one place she accidently stumbled upon but she had to remember where it was.

"I think I can help you out a bit, but will you help me?" She asked. Shelly smiled.

"Oh you know I will. Just one question; how you going to hide two fornicating inmates?" She said with a wink. Giselle smiled and waved her arms about.

"I have my office. Just please, do not piss with my shit. Stay off my desk and for the love of all that is holy, clean up your damn mess." Giselle stated. Shelly smiled and looked around the office. She saw an old dusty couch in the corner and pointed.

"What about that?" Giselle looked at the piece of furniture that was used maybe twice since she got here. It had a spring sticking out and one of the legs was about to break. There were holes where the stuffing was trying to come out and she could only imagine it was a retired piece from the day room.

"You might break it, I can't have too much noise going on in here."

"I can be quiet, give me a gag!" She said getting up. "Anything else Doc?"

"Yeah, tomorrow evening alright?"

"Sounds peeerrrfect!" She said swaying her hips as she left the room. Giselle laughed to herself, she was worried Shelly would be too scared of a canning to even dare attempt this. There was a knock at the door and Giselle looked up. It was Sister Mary Eunice. She looked timid and waiting for Giselle's order.

"Sister? Come in." She walked over shyly and sat in the chair that Shelly just left.

"Giselle Sister Jude would like to see you in her office." She said not moving.

"And?"

"That's all." She said looking at Giselle.

"Sister you're still sitting down, there is something more you wish to speak about." The nun bowed her head and sighed.

"I feel a little useless some days. Why am I so stupid?" She said tearing up. "I screwed up and I let a reporter in and now she's stuck here and…" Giselle stopped the nun's rambling and wrapped her arms about the girl leaving the files open on her desk.

"Shh, Sister," the girl sobbed and could not stop. "You must calm yourself before I can help, I don't do crying remember?" Giselle spoke rubbing her back. Mary Eunice breathed slowly trying to compose herself. She sighed and sat up wiping her eyes. "Sister you have a pure heart, with kind intentions. The world needs more of that. There is too much cruelty in this place, you are very special Sister." Giselle said rubbing Mary Eunice's arm. "I am not a woman who strongly holds to her faith so I can't speak much about this, but I would presume you are one of God's favorite daughters. You have potential you just need a little more thought before you act. Let your mind interfere with your heart every once and a while. It's ok to be unkind a little bit. Just remember you will never please everyone. Alright?" Sister shook her head and sniffled a bit. "Good."

"What a strange friendship we have Giselle." She said as Giselle returned to her desk to clean up the files.

"Why's that?"

"Well, think of our positions, it certainly is not allowed."

"Why because I am not a woman of God?" Giselle asked with a chuckle.

"Well no, because-"

"Giselle? Sister?" Said Sister Jude popping her head in. "I asked for you to send Giselle to me ten minutes ago! Whatever was the problem? A simple task Sister Mary Eunice is all I requested!"

"DO not chide the child, Sister Jude. I was walking about and just recently made it to my office. She had to find me before she could ask me to see you am I right?" Giselle spoke. She had had almost enough of Sister Jude recently. Sister Jude became stern and pointed a finger at her.

"You are lucky that you have friends on the outside or I'd cane you for backtalk."

"Sister, I am a Doctor! You cannot treat me like one of your patients!" She said squaring her shoulders.

"No I can't, you're right about that." She said with a sneer. "But I can revoke your office and have you stay in the day room with your patients!"

"You would not! I am making a great deal of progress with my patients!"

"Is that why Spivey still has his hands down his pants?!" Sister Jude said.

"It's a process, and with you interfering every time I get anywhere you can't expect instant results! Look at you Sister, how long did it take you to refuse pleasurable drinks? I bet you still think about it and yearn for a nice glass of whiskey."

"This is not a topic for discussion I am not one of your patients," She said calming herself to change the topic. "I wanted to talk to you about a new patient. The family is waiting outside my office I was hoping you could speak with their son while I'm talking to the parents. He's seems to be severely disturbed." Sister Jude walked over to her desk and looked at the files Giselle had on the desk. Her eyebrow rose at the names. "What are we doing with these two?" Giselle got nervous but didn't show it. She mentally checked what she wrote in Spivey's file and remembered she wrote 'questionable treatment prescribed, patient may experience prolonged benefits.'. Her heartbeat quickened.

"I saw Spivey today and Shelly is on my list tomorrow. I was just seeing what was on my plan for Shelly. She had that slip up the other day and I need to make adjustments to accommodate that." Sister Jude nodded and picked up a file and opened it. Giselle couldn't see which file it was from this angle but hoped it wasn't Spivey.

"So what do we suggest for her? You didn't make any changes."

"Well the Sister came in and I was going to put up the files before I came to see you." Giselle walked over to Jude and grabbed the files and placed them in her file cabinet. "Now where is this child?"

Jed was strapped down to a bed and Giselle and the orderly Jeff were in the room with him. He seemed like a normal kid minus the straight jacket Jeff had just fitted him with. Giselle leaned on the footboard of the bed and looked at Jed.

"Jed, how are you feeling today?" She asked. He looked at her blankly and fell back against the pillows. "Jed?" She said with concern. Jeff and Giselle rushed to his sides and Giselle began checking vital signs. "He's barely got a pulse. Body temputaure is raising. Jeff we're going to need a wet cloth and-" Jed started coughing and then he was thrashing back and forth and talking in a strange language. Giselle had never seen anything like this.

"Jep?" Giselle taking a step back. His head snapped to her and she jumped a little.

"Oh little Elly! I'm so glad you're trapped in here! You're such a disgrace to the family!" He said in a voice that sounded just like her fathers. She clutched her dress and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Jep, you need to calm down." She spoke in her motherly tone.

"Elly you need to suck my big fat dick! Just like your sweetheart likes!" He said thrusting his hips in the air with a cruel laugh. Giselle turned red and let go of her dress putting her hands on the back of her neck to breathe. She looked at the confused orderly.

"He needs to be sedated immediately." She spoke with authority. The orderly nodded and left the room Elly was about to follow when Jed's voice yelled at her again. She turned and saw a man in a wrinkled suit and disheveled hair.

"Hey sweet cheeks, you going to just stand around and be useless just like you were after Carter died?" Giselle grabbed the door frame and blinked back tears. Names to faces… she couldn't remember his face, but she knew this death was sad. This one was a tipping point in her life. Why couldn't she remember, all she could do was cry. She pushed herself off the frame and ran out of the room following Jeff.

When Jeff and Giselle returned to the patients room she saw Doctor Thredson walking her way, no doubt he had seen the new patient. The doctor took a look at Giselle's face seeing her tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes and whatever mission he was on before was no longer important. He grabbed the sides of Giselle's bare arms and looked into her dark eyes.

"What happened? What did he do?"

"He's inhuman. There is an evil in that boy unlike anything I've ever read about. There is no logical explanation for his behavior Doctor. He is-"

"Oh no not you too!" He said rolling his eyes. She stepped back and looked appalled.

"That boy knew exactly what my father said to me when he last visited. How could he know that? I believe in science just as you do, but believe me Doctor, if you spend more than a minute with that boy you'll understand."

"Do you know how ridiculous that even sounds? You think he's possessed, Sister Jude has arranged for an exorcism, this place is primitive! We aren't living in the middle ages! This is 1964 you and I have to assess the boy like the professionals we are not revert to their primitive ways."

"Excuse you _Doctor Thredson, _but my methods are anything but primitive. After seeing the patient I believe Sister Jude's suggestion may be just what the boy needs. If he's not possessed then what's the harm? I'm sure he'll become my patient eventually and I will deal with him like I would any other patient, but right now, this boy is too much." Giselle said blinking back her tears. Thredson shook his head and looked around.

"I had hoped you were above their influence."

"And I had hoped you would be an understanding gentleman, I guess we were both let down today." She said marching back to meet go see make sure Jeff treated the boy. Giselle stood just inside the room with her arms crossed, the boy was sitting back turned to her and looking at the cross in the room. Giselle noticed the boy was not the same as the previous demon she had seen. She closed her eyes and heard the whispers of his words still lurking about her. A hand touched her shoulder and she jumped. She turned and saw the face of Monseigneur Timothy.

"What happened while you were with the boy Miss. Tyler?"

"He said unspeakable things and knew of my past. I believe there is an evil in that boy. I cannot rely on my medical knowledge to diagnose the poor boy. What will we do to treat him?" The Monseigneur smiled at her and placed a condoling hand on her shoulder.

"Fear not my child-"

"Miss. Tyler." She corrected. Although she believed in good and evil she did not believe in the Catholic ideology and refused to let them try and include her. She only used the Sister's titles out of respect. The Monseigneur nodded his head.

"My apologies Miss. Tyler. I have already called in a specialist and we will take care of the boy. If all goes as planned he may be another one of your patients starting tomorrow. For now I would like to leave the boy alone until our specialist comes in." The Monseigneur moved his hand to Giselle's back and began to usher her out of the room. "I would also request that you get a good night's sleep tonight, tomorrow will hopefully be a full day for you if I'm not mistaken?"

"I've got Pepper and Shelly tomorrow, we will be correcting their behavior and addressing the issues of their violations to the room search this morning." Giselle and Timothy walked by an upset looking Doctor Thredson who joined the trio.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but may I have just ten minutes alone with the boy?" Thredson asked. "Perhaps I can-"

"The boy needs rest if he is to make it through tonight's treatment." Timothy said tilting his head as if the Doctor should have known that. Giselle tightened her jaw getting upset with the Doctor, he could spend as much time as possible with the boy but there could be no logical diagnoses.

"I understand that Monseigneur but what if we missed something. I cannot allow your barbaric treatment to continue without first considering all possible explanations and observing the patient-"

"Doctor, professional to professional, an extreme case of schizophrenia is about the only thing I could diagnose the boy with. However that does not explain how the patient has obtained knowledge that can present another's personal fears to said person. What we are working with here is something that goes against all our textbooks and studies. Believe me Doctor; there is nothing we can do." She said nodding a good-bye to Timothy and walking to her office. Thredson looked at the Monseigneur and he forced a smile to the man.

"Miss. Tyler is a particularly brilliant mind sometimes. We were blessed to have her here, I had just hoped that all her time here could change her outbursts like that. I was hoping that while you're here you could possibly help her some. She needs someone like you Doctor Thredson. But I can see you two don't see eye to eye. That could be a problem."

"The only problem we are facing here is the methods of your treatment! Are you aware Sister Jude distributes corporal punishment to patients? I also witnessed electro-shock therapy to treat homosexuality. This institutions is –"

"Is under my watchful eye. I am aware of what goes on here Doctor. I assure you I would not let anything continue if I did not find it to be effective." Thredson sighed and put his hands in his pants pockets. He could clearly make it nowhere with these people. What's worse is that he possibly lost the trust he was gaining with Giselle.

"I hope you change your mind before you go through with this." Thredson said point at Jed's door before he walked back to his office where a typewriter was waiting for him. He had to start writing his diagnoses on Kit before he completely lost his train of thought.


	4. Devoted to Neurosis now

_**AN: This is Thredson light and I apologize. Thank you for reading my story though. R&R Lots of Love, Wiz**  
_

* * *

Giselle paced in her office trying to cool down, this day had proved to be straining due to Sister Jude's set back, Jed's scary trip down memory lane, and Thredson's disbelief. For some reason the most troubling bit of it all was Thredson. She thought she could trust him to be on her side and believe her, but she had been wrong. She was now wishing she had a cigarette from Thredson to calm herself but what good would that do to talk to the man who made her upset? She decided the day room would be a better place to get a cigarette. Walking by his office she couldn't help but peek. He was drinking whiskey while typing away. She wondered what it was he was writing but didn't dare linger.

She made her way to the day room and found a man pulling a cigarette out of his pocket. He was sitting across from a red head who was briefly one of her patients, Grace. The pair seemed to be talking privately but Giselle still approached him. She sat next to the man and the pair stopped talking. The man took in her more professional dress and straightened up a bit.

"Doctor Giselle Tyler, got another smoke?" She asked. Grace rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Pardon _Doctor _but don't you privileged folk have access to cigarettes? I mean why would you have to ask _us?" _Giselle glared at Grace thinking back to the few times Grace made an appearance in her office. Clearly after months Grace was still upset about the whole ordeal.

"You know it is not my fault that you are no longer my patient. You can blame Sister Jude for that." Giselle spoke trying to calm her. The man was a third wheel lost in the pairs old rivalry.

"I blame you! You belong in here with us!" Grace said. An orderly walked over to the trio and approached Giselle.

"Miss. Tyler you are needed in Sister Jude's office." He spoke. Giselle got up before Grace could say anything else about her. She followed the orderly back to Sister Jude's office where she saw her flipping through mail on her desk. Sister Jude looked up and waved Giselle in. She sat across from her and waited for her to speak.

"I have assigned Jed to you in the event that he needs to be retained after tonight's treatment."

"The Monseigneur already told me Sister."

"We also need to talk about today's little fiasco. Your dear Doctor approached me saying my treatments were unfit for our patients. If I recall I have heard that same talk before from another Doctor here. You seem to be an influence on him, a bad one at that. I suggest that you two keep your distance from each other if you want to continue to stay here." Sister Jude set the mail down on her desk and stared down at Giselle.

"Oh come now Sister Jude how could a girl like me possibly influence a smart man like Doctor Thredson. He is independent and I'm sure like all God's children was blessed with free will." Giselle said rubbing religion in her face. She never skipped the opportunity.

"That maybe the case Giselle but please remember that I am the head of this institution and my methods are not to be questioned, especially by people like you!" She said sitting down.

"People like me?" Giselle said offended. "What does that mean? People with ideas and people who carry compassion for the ill? I believe if anything I am exactly the person to question your methods!" Sister Jude shook her head laughing.

"One of these days Giselle you will have served your purpose and you can be assured that many people here are waiting for that day."

"Are they now? So not only are you beating around the bush telling me how you hate me, you're implying the whole institution wants me gone?" Giselle said raising her brow.

"Miss. Tyler, I think it's time you retire for the night. Take a shower and mull over my words. It's been a long day."

"What about my new patient?" She said as Jude rose to open the door.

"What about him?" Sister Jude said hand on the door knob.

"Shouldn't I be present for treatment? You need a medical doctor on hand for this procedure and Arden will not-"

"The Monseigneur and I have decided with your previous encounter with Jed it would be best if we asked Thredson to be present. We can't have you being afraid of your patients." Sister Jude opened the door and Giselle left defeated. She could not argue that Jed had a terrifying effect on her in his current state. She walked down the stairs and made her way to her room opening her wardrobe and picking out her night dress and robe. Grabbing her slippers she made her way to the bathing room that some of the overnight nun's used. It was up a flight of stairs and behind a locked door. Setting down her towel and She turned the steaming water on and began to take off her clothes. She just wanted the day to end already it seemed like it was longer than eleven hours of work. She dipped slowly into the tub and closed her eyes. Her body began to relax from the warm water relieving her tense muscles. She sat up placing a wet wash cloth over her face and turning off the water. The room was silent and she could hear her heartbeat. She tried counting the beats per minute and determine her heart rate. Then as soon as she averaged a nice 83 she heard a loud noise and took the rag off her face. She couldn't see anything and she knew her eyes were open. She then heard the siren of the alarm and she quickly got out of the tub, grabbing her towel, she struggled to find the door knob of the bathroom. Once found it she could see the red flash of lights in the halls under the door. Curiosity piqued and she popped her head out of her door way. Nothing was going on but the sirens and flashing lights. She quickly grabbed her things and dressed leaving her old clothes behind her. She wanted to reach her bedroom as soon as possible. When she reached her floor tugging the robe's strings tightly around her waist she saw all the doors down the hall were opened and female patients stood out in the hall decorated with various confused faces. She quickly went back in her bedroom and slammed the door shut locking it and getting into bed. The confusion in the hall held no interest for her, she wanted to get away from it all. So she hid under the blankets. She didn't know what would happen with all the patients loose but she just wanted to hide in case something bad did happen. She put her head under her pillow and shut her eyes wishing this fear away.

She woke up to the sound of knocking at her door and with a foggy head she sat up. The knocking didn't stop. The light of day made it into her room and she pulled the warm covers off her body. The knocking continued.

"Who is it?" Giselle asked walking straight to her wardrobe to find clothes for the day.

"Frank, it's nearly ten o'clock . You were absent at breakfast, we were concerned." He said in his thick Bostonian accent. She quickly dressed and tried to find her shoes.

"Is there anything leftover?" She yelled through the door grabbing her shoes and hosiery. She hopped around trying to put on her hose and Frank could hear it from outside.

"No Miss. Tyler. Are you alright in there?" Giselle grabbed her cardigan and brushed her hair quickly. She decided to leave it down for the day due to her pressure for time.

"I'm fine Frank. I'll be out in a minute." She said slipping on her shoes and quickly glancing at her reflection in the mirror. She decided she looked good enough and opened the door finding Frank still outside her door. "Hello Frank." She said to the officer. He nodded and tipped the brim of his hat at her as she pulled the door shut behind her.

"Miss. Tyler you need to visit with Sister Jude ASAP. She's got some bad news for ya." He said walking with her down the hall.

"Does it have to do with the alarms last night?" She asked. Frank shrugged his shoulders.

"She don't tell me what you two talk about, I was just told to find ya."

"Well we didn't have anyone try to escape did we?" She asked climbing up the stairs.

"We had two, Bloody Face and your Miss. Grace." He said simply. "The orderlies caught them and wouldn't ya know it, here they come now." Leaving Sister Jude's office was the same man from yesterday and Grace. So Giselle had tried to bum a cigarette off of Bloody Face, that sent a shiver down her spine. She had heard all about his work and didn't really want to run into him on a bad day. She be lying if she hoped to _never_ run into him. She did want to try and help diagnose and cure him but only if she knew she had control of the situation. Kit Walker, the identity she had heard whispered about, seemed to walk with a limp and Grace looked like she had been crying. She had no idea what happened in the office before she came in but she could only presume Sister Jude was up to her cruel punishment as usual. Walking in there was another lady in the room, a patient to be exact.

"Aah, Miss. Tyler pleased to see you finally woke up to join the living." Giselle rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"What was it you needed me for Sister?"

"Miss Lana Banana you can see your way out." Sister Jude said to the other woman in the room. She looked pale as though she just witnessed something heart breaking. With Sister Jude it was hard guessing. Giselle didn't move any closer to her supervisor. "You remember our previous arrangement?"

"Which one?

"We had discussed the possibility of Jed Porter being a patient. Unfortunately that is no longer a possibility for us."

"Why did Thredson take him-"

"No we had to deliver his last rights to him. There was no hope for him, whatever evil plagued him was too strong for him to fight." Sister Jude held out a folder to Giselle. She took it and opened it up. There was a disturbing photo of the young boy with blood covering his face and foam coming out of his mouth. She read his cause of death trying to understand how a 17 year old died of a heart attack. She looked to Sister Jude with confusion.

"Heart attack? Sister that hardly seems-"

"Natural? I'm aware of these strange conditions but we could hardly write down that he was possessed by a demon. _Your people _tend to frown upon those explanations." Giselle closed the folder and handed it back.

"Was that all?" Giselle asked without emotion. She hardly appreciated the way the staff had to make distinctions between themselves and herself.

"Yes it was. You're dismissed." Giselle rose from her chair and walked to her office she had about thirty minutes before she would meet with Shelly and an orderly. She had about an hour and a half before Spivey's questionable treatment . She needed to start calculating, her job was on the line but so was a patient's well-being. She passed by the closed door of Thredson's office but could hear talking through the door. As unprofessional as it was she still lingered by the door trying to hear anything. Everything was muffled but she could hear a loud 'damn it' from the other side. With that she leaned away from the door and went on her way to her office. She quickly grabbed Shelly's file and flipped it open. She had to think how she would get the orderly out of the room to talk privately to Shelly.

Thirty minutes later an orderly walked behind Shelley as she entered the room. The session was held as normal, talk-therapy. Shelley needed to be understood by someone, needed to see compassion. Giselle had determined this was the causation for her fixation with intercourse. She found the compassion she so desperately sought in the pleasure she gave to men and herself. Giselle had made a difference since Shelley came to her. When she was first admitted she would sprawl herself in the day room begging other patients to take her. Now she had control a lot of her urges but Giselle still heard orderlies talk about how good she was. When the session neared its end Shelley and the orderly made their way to the door.

"Excuse me but can I have a word in private with Shelley, it's about some feminine things." Giselle spoke to the orderly Carl. She knew his name was Carl because he was taller and more built than any other orderly, and because he walked like a solider.

"Yeah I'll be right outside." He said closing the door behind him. Shelley looked at Giselle with confusion for a moment.

"Shelley, I have sometime this afternoon to try Spivey's treatment if your still up for it."

"Oh I'm always up for it." She said laughing.

"Good than make your way back her in twenty minutes. I can give you two thirty minutes to yourself but no more. You have to be quite, I'll be on the outside of the door, just knock when you are done I'll open the door if the cost is clear. If I knock, _we are all screwed."_

"Well that might do you some good Doc, might make you less of an uptight bitch."

"I've had enough to not worry about it for quite some time. I'll see you in twenty." The women left the office each preparing to commit sinful actions.


	5. Fixation or psychosis

_I've never so adored you_  
_I'm twisting allegories now_  
_I want to complicate you_  
_Don't let me do this to myself_

_'Far Too Young To Die'- P!ATD_

* * *

Giselle managed to sneak Spivey into her office without commotion, the most difficult part was getting him to stop touching himself so she could guide him back to her office. Shelley was walking towards her and the trio met at the door way. Quickly glancing around Giselle opened the door and everyone filed in.

"Spivey you know Shelley. I don't want you two to be loud. Just please, not on my desk!" Giselle said grabbing a file on her desk just to be a prop. Giselle's only regret about her plan was her limited access to a diaphragm for Shelley. She could get one if she left but she couldn't bring it in the doors or else the nuns would smell it on her and rip it from her hands. Another reason to hate her limited position here. She could have helped Shelley ages ago with the pill to balance some hormones, but not in this place of God. Giselle gently closed the door behind her and let the pair be alone. She just had to stand guard for thirty minutes. Did it even take that long? She tried to remember the last time she did something like that. A foggy memory came back but something told her it was a brief encounter. He did have a handsome face though, at least she had that. She leaned against the wall fanning the file back and forth in her hand. It was just a prop in case someone came along to check up on her. Her anxiety grew as she had time alone to think about what she was condoning in her office. Sister Jude would walk by at any moment and open the door. Giselle shook the thought away. She was a professional she would behave as such. Biting her lip she glanced at one of the clocks in the hallway. It had been only seven minutes. She heard a door open and turned to face it. It was Thredson's. Two orderlies were coming out with Kit Walker between them and the Doctor behind the trio. Kit seemed to limp towards her, which made her wonder what Thredson had done in his office with his patient. She quickly opened the file and placed her hand on the door handle hoping they paid no mind to her as out of place. She looked over to the trio walking by as though she just noticed them and hadn't been standing out here. When they turned down the hall and disappeared to the day room she closed the file and turned back around but was standing in front of Oliver.

"Woah, hi." She said catching her breath. He was very stealth like in his movements, she never heard him walk up behind her, or maybe it was the loud heart beat in her ears that prevented her from hearing him.

"Look, we need to talk." He stated.

"Then let's talk!" She said franticly hoping that Shelley and Spivey wouldn't choose this time to be loud.

"Well, I'd prefer to talk in private." Giselle crossed her arms.

"We are in private Doctor. What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Please Doctor Tyler can we just step in your office?" He asked

"No. What is it Oliver?" She anchored herself between the strong Doctor and the door as if she could stop him. She could hear a soft constant thump from the other side of the door and she felt her pulse rise and knew her heart would just beat out of her chest.

"As a professional statement I'd like to-" He began reaching around Giselle's waist to reach the door knob. Giselle quickly grabbed his hand and stopped him. Both hands were warm and they could feel the tension now that the other held.

"Please Oliver." She said pleading. "Let's not-" There was a sudden loud crash in her office and a giggle. Her eyes widened and Oliver rose a brow at her. She squeezed his hand still beneath hers. "Please." She said knowing he could feel her accelerated heart rate.

"What are is going on in there Miss. Tyler." He said stepping closer to her. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. Thredson would rat her out, he was already upset with her for allowing an exorcism on a patient. He removed his hand from the doorway and placed his hand gently on her upper arm. "Giselle, relax. I just want to know-"

"I'm going to get fired for this. I thought it would help-"

"What?"

"I allowed my nymphomaniac to fornicate with the chronic masturbator hoping that would ease their tensions and help stop his need to-"

"Giselle, do you honestly think I would turn you in for a treatment that could be of help?" Giselle looked into his beautiful brown eyes and saw how sincere he was. He was trying to build trust and it worked.

"You won't…" She said wiping her tears away.

"No," He said incredulously. "I would not betray someone who reminds me of myself. You're bright and ambitious Giselle. You show compassion for your patients and truly want to seem the get better. I find it refreshing in this place. Which brings me to my original purpose Miss. Tyler." He dropped his arm and stepped back a bit. " I came to apologize about my behavior yesterday. I should have listened to you as a professional. You were right about Jed but my blind ego wouldn't allow such a ludicrous explanation be true. Can we put it behind us and continue our bond as the only sane people in this place?" He said with a smirk. She laughed a bit, he thought the nuns were just as crazy as the patients.

"On one condition." She said smiling. Thredson smiled back and tilted his head.

"What's that?"

"That we work together and listen to each other. I think we could have avoided this ordeal if we did that in the first place." With a raised brow she waited his response.

"Those are some steep terms Miss. Tyler, but I think I can agree to that." He said chuckling. "But tell me about your patients ."

"There are laws against that Oliver-"

"No not like that, What I meant to say was what is it about them that makes you risk your job to help them get better?" The thumping from her office picked up again and the pair awkwardly made eye contact and blushed. Giselle regained herself and looked down the hall.

"I try so hard to understand my patients because no one tried to understand me. Everyone deserves the chance to be understood and everyone deserves someone who believes they can be the best they can be. My family thought my best was a house wife, at best a school teacher." Her hazel eyes met with Thredson's dark brown ones. "I would have been a teacher if it wasn't for the name thing." She said grabbing her elbow.

"Name thing?" Thredson asked leaning against the wall where two patients were fornicating on the other side.

"I am terrible with names and faces. I have to have solid identifiers to tie a face to a name. I have a problem with what I deem useless information making it through the working memory to long term."

"Identifiers? If you don't mind my asking, what's mine?" He asked genuinely interested in her answer. Giselle played with the edges of the folder before she answered.

"Strength." His eyes narrowed wanting an explanation. "You have strong facial features, you have a strong presence and you are strong willed. There's something about you that hardly requires an identifier. I don't need one with my patients because I am invested in them, I care about them, they are like the children I never had. But my co-workers they are so infuriating to me at times and they hardly serve a purpose to me so why bother remembering their names?" Thredson had been smiling since she explained his strength, he was really fond of this girl and wondered if his current plan was the right one to pursue.


	6. Could It Be That I Fell Apart

Sorry for the long wait, it's the end of the semester and finals are next week, projects are due, and well you know how 'dead' Dead WeeK is. So here it is:

Fall in me  
I'll let you breathe  
Cause you were fallin, I'm sorry

Fall in Love- Phantogram

* * *

The pair of doctors were entranced with each other's company while on the other side of the door the two patients were getting ready to leave.

"Do you only give these identifiers to co-workers?" Thredson asked.

"Yes, patients in here I know. They all have some sort of significance to me even if they aren't under my direct care. I always watch to see if they are making any progress. Of course with Sister Jude they only regress." She said sighing with exasperation. Thredson smirked he already understood the frustration a medical doctor could have with Sister Jude around, what with Kit barely being able to sit down during their session today.

"Speaking of the Sister, I need to speak with her do you know where she is?"

"No, but I believe she had to go deliver Jed's body to the family today, which means Arden's in charge. Oh joy." She said with mock enthusiasm.

"What do you have against him?" There was a light knock on the other side of the door. Giselle quickly displaced the doctor's question and looked around to make sure the coast was clear. She opened the door and saw Shelley patting her hair back down and Spivey looking exceptionally pleased. Giselle walked in and Thredson quickly joined the trio in the room.

"What's he doin here?" Shelley asked.

"He's just here to help with talk therapy?" She said questioning Thredson. He nodded his head and he stood behind Giselle's desk. The two patients sat down across from the two doctors and Giselle began while Thredson stood mainly to observe her at work.

"Spivey, how did our rendezvous leave us feeling? Better or worse than when we touch ourselves?" Thredson noted how she used the pronoun of we and us, as though they were working through the same problem.

"It felt so much better!"

"Well thank you." Shelley said looking proud.

"And Shelley? Do you feel better?" You. Why did she use you with Shelley?

"Yes ma'am I do! May I be excused back to the day room?" She said.

"Yes you may. Thredson could you escort her back?" Giselle asked He stiffened a bit and then shook his head.

"Yes, come on Shelley" He said opening the door a bit and checking the surroundings before he let her leave. He walked beside her keeping his distance.

"So tell me Doc? How does a girl arrange an appointment with you?" She said touching the arm of his jacket.

"Shelley, this is not appropriate behavior. I would ask that you please behave." He said trying to gently tug his arm from her.

"Hmmm, you can ask me to do a lot of things, if you want." Thredson stopped in the hallway letting an orderly pass by and he grabbed her upper arms forcing her to look at him. He restrained his strength and spoke like a scolding father.

"Shelley, stop this right now. There is no benefit to pursuring me. It will not happen."

"Is it because you ain't been with a girl, or because you only got eyes for that crazy Doctor?"

"I wouldn't call Doctor Tyler crazy, she is trying to-"

"Please Doc. No sane person would have done what she did." Shelley quickly placed a hand over her mouth. Oliver raised a curious brow and released her arms.

"What did she do?" Shelley nodded behind him to a couple of security guards walking around. She waited for them to pass before she spoke.

"The whole thing in her office. Sane Doctor's wouldn't do that with their patients."

"Well I think what she did was beneficial to both parties involved. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Well he didn't know what to do. That makes things not as much fun." Shelley said with a fake pout. They continued to walk.

"Regardless, yes or no?"

"Yes. He really liked it though, and you did just leave him alone with her, and he's compulsive." Thredson didn't even see if Shelley made it to the room, no he was on a new for more important mission. He tried not to make a scene but you can only run so slow to an office. He saw her door and hesitated at the door knob. He couldn't seem to concerned and out of breath but he heard a defiant "NO" from the other side and rushed in. He saw Spivey sitting in his seat looking worriedly at Giselle behind her desk. She was standing hands placed firmly on the desk looking very angry.

"What happened?" Oliver asked moving to her side. Giselle looked at him confused. She didn't understand his worry. She looked at Spivey and waved him away. He quietly left the office leaving the doctors alone. Giselle looked into his dark brown eyes and relaxed. Oliver again questioned her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine he just kept asking if he could leave me. We weren't finished." She said to the room more than Oliver.

"So why did you dismiss him?"

"I got angry. I don't get angry with patients." She said sitting down.

"May I ask another question?" He said leaning against the top of her desk. She nodded her head not bothering to look up at him. "You use pronouns very distinctively with your patients. Is there a reason for that?" She scrunched up her brow and looked to Oliver with suspicion.

"What do you mean?"

"I noticed you separate yourself from Shelley but with Spivey you say 'we'" Giselle thought for a good moment and couldn't piece together any bit of information to make it make sense.

"No clue." She said standing and closing folders on her desk. Oliver grabbed her arm and she looked up at him with shock.

"Doctor Tyler, do you want to talk about the treatment together? I feel like the stress of this questionable method is taking its toll on you. You need a confidant and I am the only one here who knows." Giselle sighed and pulled away from him putting the folder back in her file cabinet. Oliver pushed himself off the desk and moved to corner Giselle against the cabinet. Giselle wasn't one for awkward situations where she was the center of concern nor was she one to build sexual tension. She nodded around Oliver and he turned his head.

"They broke the leg on the couch. That was the noise we heard earlier." Sure enough the old couch had finally given out under the pair of patients. Oliver chuckled a bit when he saw it and turned to face her.

"Deflection. It's nice Giselle." She smiled and hoped something could go unnoticed by this man.

"Look, my patients and my treatment is my work. You don't need to share in my burden." He ran his hand up her arm, upset that she choose to wear a sweater today. He wanted to touch her smooth skin.

"But I want to. You said earlier that we should help each other as the only two compassionate people here. Giselle you don't get opportunities to talk to professionals here, I think this would benefit you. "

"Look if you're saying that I am a poor-"

"I'm not saying anything negative about you. I'm saying the predicament you have here at Briarcliff is unfortunate for you." She sighed and relaxed against the file cabinet. "You can't practice how you want, you're questioned when you try to help, and your diagnoses are undermined. I hate to see wasted potential." His hand played with the chocolate curls that draped off her shoulders. Her hair was smooth too.

She knew all his words were true but she had spent so long trying to ignore these facts. Her eyes began to water thinking of how here employment here was no better than the patients sometimes. She needed social connections, her education told her that was essential to a human, and here was Oliver offering himself to meet her psychological need. This slow depression and anxiety that was creeping on her erupted a need for closeness. She placed her crying face in her hands and moved to cry on Oliver's chest. Oliver didn't know what to do with a crying woman. He had never had a broken woman willingly get closer to him for comfort. It was the other way around. Oliver was the broken one who needed to be comforted. How did he want to be comforted? A mother's love, arms wrapped to cradle him. He tried to mimick what he knew about that type of connection. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and ran his fingers through her hair. She was still crying though, what in the world do parents do to soothe a crying child? Encouragement, building a connection, make them feel like you're there for them.

"Giselle, it's alright. We can get you out of this place and we can open up a firm for you. I know some colleagues in the Midwest who could help you." He couldn't remember the name of his school mate but he remembered him talking about opening a firm in Chicago because they would go to anyone for help there. She stopped sobbing and looked up into his dark brown eyes.

"You would do that?" She asked through a cracked voice. Her tear stained face held so much hope for a new future, Oliver would agree to anything seeing her hazel eyes light up.

"Yes, anything for a fellow colleague." She smiled a bright smile, one he had never seen before except on proud parents and school children. He liked that smile too. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Thank you!" She said in his neck. He moved his arms to around her waist and hugged back, he made note of how natural this affection thing was when someone else initiated it. She pulled back and the pair found a new feeling running between them. Something felt natural about being in a man's embrace to Giselle, and she couldn't help but lean forward. Oliver didn't know what to do, he had never kissed a girl before. Quickly he released his grip on Giselle and she seemed hurt. That's not what he wanted.

"Sorry, I-"

"No it's my fault. We are professionals." She said playing with the hem of her sweater. She bowed her head and then a new wave of emotions hit her. "I'm never the object of affection anyway. I'm always second choice. You have a girl don't you?" She said lifting her head. Oliver was taken aback by her question and change in mood.

"No! That's not it! I don't have a girl, I just was alaramed at such sudden affection and it" She placed a finger over his mouth and she felt how soft his lips were. The need to kiss him was overbearing.

"Then relax. It's a natural thing Doctor." She said inching closer to his face again removing her finger. Her words and proximity had the opposite effect. He was getting more tense and his brain was racing. She lightly placed her lips against his and then the Doctor realized how right she was. His body was relaxing, he wanted more and put a firm hand on her back to hold her closer. He didn't want this to end.


End file.
